EDITORIAL: Tardy notice justifies outrage

When Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials argue they were forced to merge Orange Coast Middle College High School into Early College High because of the ailing economy, we understand.

All around us are signs of the fast-spreading viruses of rising joblessness, devalued home values, deflation, sagging consumer confidence and a seized-up credit market. It makes you want to slip the business section of the paper, unread, into the bird cage.

So we get it. When school officials made their announcement they were faced with the prospect of IOUs from a flat-busted state. Already the district has chopped $8 million from its budget because of the state crisis.

But when the news is dumped on the public after what appears to have been a long period of planning and it’s announced as a done deal, then parents and students have every right to their indignation. We found out about it ourselves at the end of the business day Wednesday, when it is difficult to track down anyone affected by the decision.

Finally, Thursday evening school officials met with parents and students to tell them about the plan to merge the schools, which allow high school students to simultaneously take college-level classes to get a head-start on their higher education. They shouldn’t have been surprised by the disappointment from the stakeholders.

And it’s pretty tough to beg parents for patience and understanding after you’ve dropped such a big decision on them with zero input and then inform them that there’s no turning back.